Volunteer doctors reaching out to remote communities

As part of the Umbrella campaign to reach remote communities, pediatricians volunteered to travel to remote municipalities around Greece to vaccinate children and inform parents.

Speaking to Kathimerini, the president of the national organization of educational programs (POEP), Konstantinos Daloukas, said the association’s pediatricians have since April visited the municipalities of Alonissos, Amorgos, Sfakia, Nisyros, Ithaki, Iroiki Niso Psaron, North Tzoumerka, Prespes and Paranesti, while the last visit will be in the next few days to the municipality of Gortynia in Arcadia. 

“We chose to visit 10 municipalities across Greece where there is inequality of access to pediatric facilities and where information on health and vaccination issues is extremely difficult,” he pointed out. 

Tellingly, one resident of Kalavryta said it was “the first time I heard that the HPV vaccine is also given to boys, I really didn’t know.”